King of Seekers-Finale
The Arena - Vos You hear the roar of the crowds before you even enter the Vos Arena. One of the social highlights of Vos, crowds gather at this amphitheatre for business outings, talking philosophy, and of course to watch two gladiators beat the scrap out of each other. There is almost always a fight going on at the Arena. The combatants are a mix of mechs found guilty by the Vos Courts, Underplates risking death to improve their station, and traveling warriors aiming to make a name for themselves. Skydive has arrived. Hook has arrived. Arcee has arrived. A standard announcer-type mech stands in the center of the ring. "Femmes and gentlemech, welcome to the final match of the 'King of Seekers' Tournament! Tonight we have a special guest announcer, who has won the right to announce by random vote....please give a warm welcome to...Arcee!" And out comes The Pink Lady herself, looking somewhat sheepish. She didn't REALLY think she was going to be chosen, what were the odds? She'll need to smack Springer for talking her into this. After the boos and jeers of many of the fine citizens of Vos die down somewhat, Arcee smiles and decides to weather this through. "Thank you for being here tonight, for the final tournament of *this* series of...the King of Seekers Tournament! Tonight, we have an exciting matchup for you...the last mechs standing in the ultimate battle of wits, daring, and might! To my left, we have Autobot Skydive..." She gestures with her left arm toward Skydive, "And to my right, we have the Decepticon Blast Off!" This gets a mighty cheer from the crowd that can be felt as well as heard. The Constructicon Hook sits along a long purple metallic bench, along with his comrades Long Haul and Scavenger, at ring side. Hook and his comrades are all all finely polished to a lime green sheen, they look like they're ready for the big event. Each Constructicon carries with him a brass horn, each also looking quite polished. As Arcee announces Blast Off's name, Hook hurridly signals to his comrades. The group stands up in unison and begins to play quite the heroic tune, causing the crowd to become even more bolsterous in there cheering. Snapshot has arrived. "The rules, gentlemechs, are as you know: you are to use your alt mode only, no transforming to root mode...and for this final matchup, boosters are allowable. Are you ready to do this??" Arcee asks Skydive and Blast Off dramatically. Blast Off is here... for his final round in the King of Seekers. Win or lose. And he /will/ win, of course. Okay, so he's had a rough couple of cycles... like, a REALLY rough couple of cycles... but that's behind him now, right? He's not going to let the likes of Blurr or the fact that he crashed during planetary reentry and he's maybe not quite as good a shuttle as he *thinks* he is actually get him down, because that is just crazy talk, and crazy talk is for Vortex. No, he is *magnificent*, and here is his chance to show it to the world! He looks around, appearing as aloof and disdainful as ever, though he will nod courteously to Skydive, who is at least a fellow sophisticate. Arcee gets a glance, too, and Blast Off seems to hold his ionic blaster just a little tighter as he recalls a certain recent encounter. He nods to her question. "Yes." Did Skydive ever imagine he'd get this far in the tournament? Not in the slightest. It felt good to come so far, but to be honest, winning wasn't that big of a deal to him. But either way he'll fight, and it appears to have finally come down to the last two competitors. Him and Blast Off. As the crowd goes wild for the latter, Skydive simply flashes a smirk at his opponent and offers a nod. "Best of luck to you out there. May the best mech win." Looking to Arcee, he nods again. "Ready." Hook directs a crescendo of horn playing with his fellow Constructicons. Wow, its quite the tune! Of course Snapshot couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some good footage of such a grand competition as the King of Seekers tournament, even if technically neither of the finalists is actually a Seeker. The thrill, the excitement, the heroic struggle between good and evil in a non-lethal fashion just makes for great drama. "Get out zere and show him who is le patron, Monsieur Skydive!" the tapeformer calls out to the Autobot competitor, already snapping photos left and right. Ooh, there's even a neat tune from the Constructicons. She makes sure to record that; it might be useful for a future project. Arcee nods to both. "Then good luck to you both...may Primus guide you...and now...it's time to see who is, indeed, the champion! You may begin!" Her announcing duties over, Arcee then retreats to an observation booth ASAP. She's not going to be out here when these two start going at it. Hook signals the end of the horn playing, the group sits back down on their bench, eagerly awaiting the action. Hook motions over to Long Haul "I think the Combaticon will make short work of the Autobot, he's quite the fighter, and someone who knows what life is really about.". Long Haul nods dutifully, struggling to comprehend what Hook is talking about it. Flipping and twisting, Skydive shifts into an F-16C Fighting Falcon, ready for takeoff! With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Space Shuttle arches an optic ridge to Skydive. "Thank you. Indeed." Of course, "best mech" just means... him. He looks over at Hook, giving him a nod. Hmmm, who knew... Constructicons have musical talents? Then again, Hook can be quite skilled... if a bit unsettling, too. He glances at Snapshot, as well, but she is *hardly* worth the bother (*disdainful sniff*), so he quickly focuses on the matter at hand. "Well, Skydive... a battle between gentlemechs. This shall be... interesting." With that, he transforms and lifts into the air, immediately launching a laser attack at the Bot! Combat: Space Shuttle sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes F-16E Fighting Falcon with his First shots (Laser) attack! -1 He could do without the fanfare that is the Constructicon band, but Skydive doesn't complain. They aren't that bad, to be honest. But no time to admire the music, there's a fight happening! With a soft smirk and nod, Skydive watches Blast Off take to the sky, following suit and breaking into a run before leaping and transforming. Afterburners flare to life the moment the wind is beneath his wings, rocketing skyward and veering off to get some distance between them before turning about. Blast Off's already on him though, laserfire peppering the mechs side which draws a soft hiss of pain. "A bit eager, aren't we?" He chides, turning about and priming weapons before loosing off a cluster of little rockets that zip off towards the shuttle. Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon misses Space Shuttle with his Cluster Rockets attack! -3 Hook strikes the band back up again upon Blast Off's hit and the Autobot's miss. This time the Constructicons belt out an epic well known among the Cybertronians in attendance, causing a roar of approval from the crowd. Oh yeah, Snapshot's liking this. Her cameras can't get enough of the action on display here, and as the Constructicons start up their epic trumpeting, she can't help but grin. Loooots of good material, here. Space Shuttle responds to Skydive, "I am simply getting down to business. I have never been one for dilly-dallying or wastefulness.... I go in, I do my job, and I leave. No fanfare for me... unlike what *some* mechs seem to crave and need...." He sounds a bit miffed, though it may well be he's talking about someone not even here right now... The shuttle seems distracted, lost in his thoughts... until he flies by just a bit too close to the stands. Avoiding a collision and suddenly veering back on course, he arcs around. The Combaticon avoids Skydive's attack and then unleashes another barrage of laserfire as the orbital bombardment weaponry under his nosecone begins to warm up. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes F-16E Fighting Falcon with his distracted driver/pilot (Laser) attack! Arcee is off in the observation booth reserved for newscasters. She's watching curiously...kind of a quiet appreciation of the tournament. Although whenever Skydive does something particularly gutsy, she gets a little more animated in her cheering. Another round of fire scores into the Aerialbot's hull, sending up a thin trail of smoke in his wake. "Hngh.. I can see that." Skydive internally winces, pulling hard to the right to try and put some breathing room between them. Blast Off is faster than he thought, since it's usually hard to hit Skydive. A bit of revaluation is in order. Once a safe distance away, the Falcon gives himself a moment to recover before circling around and attempting to get behind Blast Off. Getting right up on his tail the mech gives chase, attempting to mimic the shuttle's movements and asses his next ones to read a shot. Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon strikes Space Shuttle with his Flight Maneuver Mimicry attack! Combat: You took 0 damage. Combat: That attack has locked on Space Shuttle . (LOCKON) Space Shuttle successfully leaves a mark upon his opponent's hull, then starts circling around for another go. This is looking to be a bit of a turkey shoot, but the Autobot never did stand a chance, after all. But then the Aerialbot surprises him with a sudden rush of speed. As agile as the Combaticon is, a shuttle isn't always the most manueverable in a more constrained environment such as this, and Skydive gets behind him. Blast Off huffs in annoyance, but can't seem to shake him! He puts on an extra burst of speed, but that doesn't help either... and the Autobot is still FAR too close. Blast Off likes his distance, and this just will not do. He can't even get a proper bombardment off with Skydive still this close. Annoyed, and already far too "up close and personal" anyway... he does the only thing he can think of now... he rolls around and attempts to ram the Aerialbot. "You want to get close, do you?" That'll show him! Hopefully.... Combat: Space Shuttle strikes F-16E Fighting Falcon with his Too Up Close and Personal (Ram) attack! That's always the risk you run when getting into close quarters situations, and unfortunately Blast Off takes advantage of this. Skydive gets slammed, knocking him away with a force and denting him heavily from the shuttle's bulk before he swerves away. This fight really isn't in his favor, systems already flashing. Luckily Skydive doesn't go down without a fight. With the Combaticon still locked onto, Skydive gives a burst of speed to catch back up and rolls two of his strongest missiles into a bay. "Only to give you this!" The mech retorts and drops his payload, both missiles racing off towards Blast Off, following their laser-guided path. Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon strikes Space Shuttle with his Laser-Guided Missile attack! Blast Off's maneuver works with a satisfying crunch, but ultimately Skydive is able to launch his own attack- and connect- anyway. The Combaticon hisses in pain as the missiles tear into his fuselage, causing major damage all along one brown and purple metal side. the shuttle wobbles from the hit, adjusting flight systems to stay on course and not go careening down. With a huff, he circles back around. "Not bad, Skydive... not bad. ....Not good enough, though. Do you really think you're a match for me? I know you're surprisingly sophisticated for an Autobot, and surely you're smarter than that...." The shuttle's bombardment weaponry got a bit shortcircuited during that last attack, though, and Blast Off, still confident of a win, simply takes a little time to make sure those systems go back online before he attacks again." Combat: Space Shuttle takes extra time to steady himself. Pass F-16E Fighting Falcon banks off after that last attack, feeling winded. It's clear he isn't doing so well, his flight visibly lazing and a pained hint to his speech when speaking. "At this moment? I don't believe I am, no. But everyone has their own strengths Blast Off, don't forget." If Skydive isn't a match for Blast Off in the air, one wonders what a ground battle would be like. But even though he knows he's going to lose, Skydive won't forfeit. With a grunt of effort he instead primes another missile, swooping around to come up on the mech's side and loosing it as he flies by. Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon strikes Space Shuttle with his Laser-Guided Missile attack! Combat: You are very aware that your life is in danger! Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon 's attack has damaged your Agility! The crowds in the stands are cheering WILDLY, now, and the excitement is nearly to a fever pitch. Snapshot herself leans in as the fight heats up, even as her camera eyes zoom in for a closeup on the missile impact. This is gonna be one heck of a clutch victory, regardless of who wins! Space Shuttle would indeed probably not be a match for Skydive... or most anyone at all, for that matter... during a ground, fist-to-fist battle. But happily for him, this is very specifically NOT one, and the Combaticon is free to soar, shoot and smirk (inwardly, at least). But he finds his mind drifting again, caught up in recent events that have been making it difficult for him to give this his full attention, like it should. Plus, his arrogance tells him he's already won, right? It costs him again, as Skydive comes in for another attack- and again connects- for even more damage this time. The shuttle grunts in further pain as large sections of his fuselage are torn asunder, and one wing is nearly clipped! Antigravs help keep him up, but his agility is now a bit compromised and warnings flash all along his HUD. "Gaaah..." That does it. He is ending this... NOW. Time to get down to business. It's what he does. The shuttle lifts up higher into the air, and the hatch under his nosecone opens as weapons aim at his opponent below. "Well... wiser words than I would normally expect coming from an Autobot, Skydive. And I agree with you, everyone does have their own strengths. Unfortunately for you, I have more than the usual share... and I am the Master of this domain. I will give you this, though... you fought valiantly... but in vain, I am afraid." With that, he launches his orbital bombardment! Combat: Space Shuttle sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes F-16E Fighting Falcon with his I AM the King of Seekers- and anything ELSE I choose to be. attack! -5 Combat: F-16E Fighting Falcon falls to the ground, unconscious. Within the newscaster booth, pandemonium erupts as the victory is broadcast to the entire universe. Arcee looks on sadly as Skydive gets completely owned by the Combaticon. She's probably the only one in there who doesn't have a loud, cheerful instant reaction to Blast Off's victory. "Here you go -- go ahead and present Blast Off with this," one of the event administrators says to Arcee, giving her a somewhat icky smile as he gives her the King of Seekers trophy. "Wait a minute. You want ME to give *this* to Blast Off?!" Arcee asks incredulously. She knew all about her role in the beginning of the bout, but no one told her she'd have to do THIS! "Please. It will...look good for the cameras." The mech in front of Arcee folds his arms stubbornly. "Oh, for the love of --! Alright, fine," Arcee grumbles, picking up the trophy and heading out into the main arena once more. F-16E Fighting Falcon knew this was coming. He'd read up on Blast Off, studied his moves, and knew this was going to be a tough fight. And it seems what tactics he was hoping to use were all for nothing as the shuttle fires, lancing through the Falcon's already damaged hull and sparking up a brilliant explosion of fire above the arena. "Gaah!" Skydive reels in pain, systems blaring in the red as he careens back down towards the ground, gouting black, acrid smoke in his wake. The harsh screech of crumpled and twisting metal rings out when Skydive crashes, skidding halfway across the arena and digging up the ground as he goes until finally slowig to a halt. It isn't a pretty sight, the mech long since fallen unconscious and leaking heavily while technicians rush over to try and put out the flames. Were he able to he'd likely congratulate Blast Off, but unfortunately that wil have to wait for later. Space Shuttle watches his opponent go down in flames, and smirks inwardly... yet again. I mean, really, was this ever even a question? Of course it would be Blast Off who would win this tournament... whoever would even stand a chance against his speed, firepower, and skills? No one, that's who! There's a dark twinge in his subconscious, taunting him with memories of much less flattering times he's had his own aft handed to him, but he quickly shoves that out of his mind. Those were all... accidents! His opponents were just lucky that day, that's all. Yes. Victorious, the Combaticon transforms and lands in the center of the arena. He watches as the unconscious Skydive is attended to, and even nods in his direction one last time as a courtesy to his fallen opponent. He actually has some small measure of respect for the Aerialbot, due to his intelligence, but he is of course not sentimental about it. The Combaticon then looks calmly about him. If he's enjoying the uproar and cheers, it would be hard to tell. He looks as aloof as ever. And besides, it's not like he'd want to appear like another, very /fast/ mech who is revoltingly adored- and takes revolting pleasure in all that adoration. How... sickening. No, Blast Off is far better than that. He has more important things to do. This prize is merely a trinket... but it should show to the world that here is a mech who should be feared and respected. Not a bad thing from a military standpoint. And that's all this is, yes. All those cheers... they're not getting to him at all, no. His gaze drifts up into the cheering stands, almost...wistfully?... and gets lost there a moment... before he shakes his head and returns to look as Arcee approaches with his prize. He slightly raises an optical ridge at the sight, but says nothing. Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. Snapshot is a little disappointed, but at the very least the fight was exciting. She does feel sorry for Arcee, having to give that trophy to Blast Off herself. But, on the other hand, he /did/ earn it. The cassettebot continues recording for a bit, just in case anything else interesting happens. Arcee is definitely not pleased with this arrangement, although under the scrutiny of hundreds of intergalactic networks, she's got her gameshow face on. She brings out the very ornate trophy, and presents it to the Combaticon. "Congratulations are in order for Blast Off, who has one this Tournament of Seekers!" As Arcee says this, the crowd goes absolutely bonkers...they're clearly pleased with the outcome of this bout, by and large. Arcee then hands Blast Off a microphone. One thing the Autobot femme refuses to do is to interview Blast Off, who she's sure will just bloviate about how wonderful he is to no end. She will, however, provide the lovely crowds in Vos the opportunity to listen to him bloviate on his own, without an interviewer. "I think Vos wants to know how you feel right now," Arcee prompts with a smile, then heads back to the booth, leaving Blast off there with his trophy and a microphone. Blast Off accepts the trophy with the smug air of *well, this was inevitable, anyway, wasn't it?*. He nods to Arcee, tempted to ask her *how's the cultural pursuit going?*... but there isn't time. Nor could he really just say that to her without everyone else hearing. He blinks a bit in surprise as she hands him a microphone, however, and stands there staring as she walks off. Then he looks up into the stands, and there's a momentary quick, nervous twitch of a wing elevon- the undamaged wing, at least. Some more staring... suddenly put on the spot, the rather introverted and quiet Combaticon isn't sure what to say next. But he has to say something.... "I... uh... feel fine. This... well, it was to be expected, after all. No one can match my particular skills and speed." He blinks, then his brows furrow a bit and he repeats more fervently, "/NO ONE/ can match my skill ...and /SPEED/. Despite what you may have been told." Yes, Blurr is still on his mind. He pauses again to look around, realizing this could be an opportunity- of some kind. Maybe? "I... also... uh... hope this demonstrates that. Decepticons are Champions by nature... the /Combaticons/ in particular, as /I/ have shown. Yes..." He tilts his head and looks up at the crowds- and the television cameras. "Yes, I hope this little demonstration shows this quite clearly- to all. Especially our... "friends" in places like... Tarn, for instance. We do hope this tournament has been... enlightening. And entertaining. Good day, Cybertron."